Meeting a Legend

When I was living in Oregon at 19, I developed a passion for queer history. I remember going to the public library and renting every LGBTQ+ documentary I could get my hands. The two that stick out in my mind are the Life and Times of Harvey Milk and Milk. After a few days of watching these, I decided I wanted to know more. I had started reading a few books and I wanted to hear more but from the source. I started reaching out to queer historical figures that I thought left a large positive imprint on the community. Many of the people who I reached out to happened to be Harvey Milk’s friends. The only person who responded was Danny Nicoletta. I actually found his phone number on a flyer from one of his photography shows from ten years prior. I called and was dumbfounded that he answered/ “Uh..Uh Hello, I’m Brandon. Why did you answer?”. “Well, hello Brandon. I suppose I was curious who was calling me from a Wisconsin number. What can I do for you?”. I continued to fumble through asking his about his past and he stopped me. “Gather your thoughts and call me back at 3:00pm. I take calls in the afternoon”, said Danny with an abrupt hang-up. I now had a phone date with someone I read about in books and saw in documentaries. I was feeling emotional and grateful and surprised. Danny was Harvey Milk’s first hired photographer for his camera store. Harvey hired Danny at 17 or 18 years old to work in the store, and eventually take pictures and be an advocate for his campaign. Danny and I talked that afternoon for several hours. He has helped me with understanding a more well-rounded view of queer history, especially in 1960’s San Francisco.

We remained in close contact over the next few years over email, phone, and Facebook messenger talking about everything under the sun. When I told him I was coming to California for the Frameline film festival, not only did he reveal that he was a founding father of the festival, but that we would get the chance to meet and spend some time together. Danny was a special guest in a presentation (no surprise) and also was going to a book release he thought would interest me. He invited me as his guest to both events. I got the opportunity to meet someone I have looked up to and idolized for years. Many older queer individuals have been forced to become hardened, following the immense amount of discrimination faced and the AIDS epidemic that followed shortly after where no doubt every member of the queer community lost best friends, family, and lovers. That is certainly not the case with Danny. He is without a shadow of doubt one of the most generous and kind individuals I have ever had the pleasure of becoming friends with. Everyone describes him that way, from friends that lived here in the Bay with him in the 60’s to people who are meeting him for the very first time. After both events, he took me out to eat after with longtime friends, all of whom have a marvelous story.